1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing technique in an image forming apparatus having a print function of acquiring a file from a predetermined storage location, and printing the acquired file.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) has a storage device such as a hard disk to store various kinds of information. Actually, in order to cope with various objects, the image forming apparatus stores a print target document file (to be merely referred to as a “document” hereinafter), temporarily saves spooled print data, and saves printed data.
Generally, the image forming apparatus is communicably connected to a plurality of devices via a network. With this configuration, the image forming apparatus can acquire, via the network, information not only from the image forming apparatus itself but also from each device on the network, and print the acquired information.
In the image forming apparatus having these functions, various proposals have been made in association with the information processing technique of acquiring a document from a predetermined storage location and printing the acquired document. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-127473 discloses an arrangement in which a user selects, from a past printing history, a print target document and print condition setting which are stored in a predetermined storage location.
However, even when the user tries to select a desired document from the past printing history, it is difficult to find the desired document if the past printing history contains an enormous amount of data. This imposes a heavy load on the user.